Light-control switch



C. I. WHITE. LIGHT'CONTROI. SWITCH. APPLICATION FILED IAIIJS. I921- I Patented Oct. 17, 1922. F'/c;.2. FIG. 3.

1 0 1 mg .44 w 5Q 3 1H? I- R W I/ w m M 5 I/ l O W 4 0w 4. w. M U7 m V m v 6 u 7 4 m CYRIL J. WHITE I l I l I I m. I I l I l l l l I I I l I I I II l I l I I I l |.;o I I l I I I I I Patented Oct. 17, 1922.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LIGHT-CONTROL SWITCH.

Application filed March 15, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CYRIL J. lVnrrn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Long Beach, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Light-Control Switches, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of this invention to provide a switch of the wall switch type and which is adapted to be employed in connection with electric lights or the like. The switch is arran ed to be moved to a selected one of a plurality of positions so as to open a circuit or close various circuits having different resistance elements therein, or close a circuit having no resistance element's therein. By this arrangement lights may be extinguished or caused to burn brightly or dimly as desired.

'It is a further object of the invention to provide a switch mechanism of this character housed within a suitable wall box which is arranged for the free circulation of air through the same in order to prevent excessive and dangerous heating of the device.

The invention will be readily understood from the following description of the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a switch constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section on the line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a wiring diagram of a lighting system employing the switch.

The wall box adapted-to receive a switch mechanism is shown at. 1 and is provided with a lower extension 2 receiving the resistance elements for the switch. A frame 3 is secured to the front of box 1 and is provided with an inwardly extending flange 4 adapted to support the switch mechanism. A cover plate 5 is positioned over the front of the wall box and may be secured thereto by screws 6 received in frame The cover plate is provided with a central opening 7' Serial No. 452,424.

the switch which are arranged to close a circuit having no resistance element therein, to open the circuit, to close a circuit having a resistance element therein, and to close a circuit having a greater resistance element there-in respectively. hen the switch is employed in a lighting circuit and is in its respective positions as above described, the lights will burn brightly, will be extinguished, will burn with medium brightness, and will burn dimly respectively. The switch key 9 is preferably provided with indicating means shown as an arrow 10 which is arranged to denote the positions to which the key must be turned in order to make the various contacts, and the face of cover plate 5 is provided with co-operating indicating means 11 arranged around the key and shown as suitable words, such as Full, Off, Medium and Low.

The flange 4 supports an insulator block 12 within wall box 1, and a second insulator block 13 is mounted at the rear of block 12 and is provided with a rearwardly extending portion 14 above the extension 2 of the wall box and adapted to form the upper support for the resistance elements within said extension. An insulator block 15 is received within the lower portion of extension 2 in alinement with block 14, and said blocks are connected by a rod 16 which is preferably extended through the base plate of extension 2 to provide additional supporting and positioning means for the insulator blocks.

Resistance elements are arranged between blocks 14-15 at the respective sides of bolt 16. Each of said resistance elements is shown as comprising two coils 17 arranged at the front and at the back of extension 2 respectively. The resistance elements are connected beneath lower block 15, as shown at 18, and a connection 19 extends from connection 18 upwardly and through upper block 14.

The spindle 8 of the switch is journaled in a terminal block 20 which extends through blocks 12 and 13. The terminal block 20 is connected as shown at 20 to a terminal 21 upon the rear of block 13. Terminals 22 and 23 are positioned upon the rear of block 13 at the respective sides of spindle 8 and are connected to the respective resistance elements, as shown at 24 and 25. A fuse 26 is preferably arranged in the connection 24. A terminal 27 is also positioned on the back of block 13 preferably in circumferential alinement with terminals 22 and 23 and half way between the same. This terminal is connected as shown at 28 to the connection 19. The terminal 22 is also con nected as shown at 29 to a terminal 30 upon the back of block 13, and the terminals 21 and 30 are connected to leads 31 and 32 of the lighting system which are preferably supported in conduits 33 formed as a part of, and in the upper corners of, wall box 1.

Contact clips 35 are mounted upon the front of insulator block 12 and are supported by the bolts forming the respective terminals 22, 23 and 27. These contact clips are adapted to be selectively engaged by a contact arm, 36 fixed upon spindle S for rotation therewith. The contact arm and spindle 8 are preferably yieldably urged axially in order that the contact arm will make a good contact with clips 35 as by means of a resilient spider 87 abutting against the bearing of arm 36 and having the ends of its arms impinging against a plate 38 carried by flange 4.

It will be understood that clips 35 are so arranged that arm 36. will contact the same when key 9 is turned to various positions denoted by indicators 11, and that the contact arm will break connections with all of the clips when key 9 is turned to the fourth of its positions as shown by indicators 11. The key is yieldably held with Contact arm 30 in any one of its four positions by means of a lug 4O projecting from the bearing of arm 36 and adapted to engage in any one of suitably positioned recesses 42 provided .in spring spider 37.

The contact arm 36 is so arranged that as it is rotated from one clip to another, it will bridge said clips in order to maintain a closed circuit as it is moved from one position to another, and the contactarm is also so arranged that when it is moved into the space between the clips carried by terminals 22 and 23 it will disengage both of said clips in order to break the circuit. The parts areso arranged that when the key 9 is turned to the position denoted by the indicator Off, the contact arm is in position to. break the circuit, as just described, and when the key is turned to the positions denoted by the indicators Low, Medium and Full respectively, the contact arm will engage the clips carried by terminals 23. 27 and 22 respectively.

3y reference to Fig. 5, it will thus be seen that when the contact arm engages the clip havingterminal 23 that a circuit is completed through terminal 20, the switch spindle, the contact arm, the clip, one of the resistance elements, the connection 18, and the other resistance element. In similar manner when the clip, carried by terminal 27, is engaged, a circuit is closed through the contact arm, connection 19, and one of the re It will be noted that when one or both of the resistance elements are introduced into the circuit that fuse 26 is also placed in said circuit in order to prevent the passage of excessive current to said resistance elements, while when the circuit is shunted around the resistance elements so that there is no danger of overloading the same, the fuse is also cut out of the circuit.

In order to provide for ventilating the container for the switch mechanism and thereby prevent excessive heating of the same when one or both of the resistance elen'ients are in the circuit, the top of box 1 is preferably perforated as shown at a5, and the base of extension 2 is similarly perforated at shown at 16 in order to provide for the circulation of air. Insulator blocks 14 and 15 extending across extension 2 within the path of the circulating air are preferably also perforated as shown at 4 7 and 48 in order to not impede the air circulation.

A casing 49 is preferably arranged below the perforated base of extension 2, and said casing is provided with perforations 50 and the sides thereof for the circulation of air, while the base of said casing is closed in order to form retaining means.

Variouschanges may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

\Vhat is claimed is:

An electric switch comprising a box including a main body portionha-ving an open side and an extension depending from the body portion and communicating therewith, a frame secured within the opening of the body portion, a block of insulated material sustained on the frame within the box, a second block secured to the first block, a rod sustained on and depending from the second block, a third block connected to the rod. resistance elements connected to the second and third blocks, stationary contacts sus tained on the first block, a movable contact rotatably supported on the first block and movable to engage any of the stationary contacts.

I11 testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

(YRIL J. WliiI'lTE. 

